Generative AI in K–12: What's Real, What's Risk, and What's Next - HoET264

I'm AJ Bianco from Podcast PD, a part of the Education Podcast Network just like the show you're listening to now. Shows in the network are individually owned and opinions expressed may not reflect others. Find other interesting education podcasts at edupodcastnetwork.com Coming up on episode 264 of the House of Ed Tech Podcast, I'm going to talk about generative AI in the K-12 classroom. What's real? What's the risk? And what's next? Strike up the band. Welcome to the House of Ed Tech. My name is Chris Nessie. The House of Ed Tech launched in 2014 giving me the opportunity to speak with teachers, leaders, and creators so you can more effectively integrate technology, strengthen your pedagogy, and have more confidence in your classroom and school so you can make an impact. Get involved with the podcast by visiting my website, chrisnessie.com. Using technology isn't difficult. And this is where it begins. This is the House of Ed Tech. Welcome back to another episode of the House of Ed Tech Podcast. Today I am getting into what is really defining education and dominating a lot of the conversation here in 2025 soon to be 2026. And that is the absolute explosion of generative AI tools in K-12 education. Teachers like you and me, we are experimenting. Your district might be scrambling to set policies. Students are finding new shortcuts every day. And let's face it. Everybody is trying to figure out what it means for teaching and the learning. I've talked here and there over the last couple of years about AI in education. But in this episode, I want to talk about what's actually happening in classrooms, what opportunities and risks are emerging. And how can we actually lead through all of this with a sense of clarity, creativity, and that ever needed human element care? I've got the Ed Tech thought. I've got the featured conversation that I'm having with you today. But first, I want to remind you that we're getting near the end of the calendar year. And that means we're getting close to the last episode of the calendar year. And as always, that is going to be the annual Ed Tech Smackdown. So if you're new, every year my last episode is the Ed Tech Smackdown. I've been doing it every final episode of the calendar year since 2014. And that's your opportunity as a listener of the show to participate and submit your favorite Ed Tech tool tip website. AI, whatever you're using in education technology that really excited you or you got a lot of value from or you just need to shout it from the digital rooftops. This episode is your chance to be a part of the show. So what you're going to do is the following. You're going to go to chrisnessie.com/feedback or chrisnessie.com/voicemail. And you're going to either send me an email or a voicemail voicemails are preferred because it's a podcast. I want to hear your voice. And so does the rest of the House of Ed Tech community. You're going to send me that message and you're going to tell me who you are, where you're from, where you work, what you do in education. And then you're going to wax poetic about your favorite Ed Tech tool tip. Something education technology related that you loved or that excited you here in 2025. And I need you to send this to me by December 12. So you've got a little more than a month to send me your contributions to the annual House of Ed Tech Smackdown. After December 12, I will assemble all of the submissions together. And that final episode of the year will come out before December 31. And it's a great episode. I love hearing from listeners like you. And if you've never done it, make this the year that you finally submit something. You can repeat things from years past because there are certainly tools out there that are still valuable in education, still valuable to what you are doing as a teacher and an educator. Share it. Be a part of this community. And again, voice smells are preferred. If you send me an email, I used to say that I would do an impression of you, but I maybe will just put your email into AI and I will just give you some random voice. And that could also be fun and interesting too. But I would love to hear your voice. So go to christnessy.com/voicemail or if you want, you can record something and you can email it to me. The email address is [email protected]. And I want you to be a part of the 2025 House of Ed Tech Smackdown. Get all that to me by December 12. And now let's get into this episode's Ed Tech Thought. This Ed Tech Thought I am calling the AI tipping point. For the last couple of years, you and I have been talking about AI as if it's something that's coming next. But as we sit here in the fall of 2025, AI is not next. AI is now. Generative AI or gen AI has crossed a threshold from novelty to necessity. And I know there might be people who listen to this, who are now yelling at their radios or yelling at their iPhones or whatever, saying it is still a novelty and it is hype. I don't believe it. AI is here. According to the 2025 Cowson Report Driving K-12 Innovation, AI is officially the number one technology enabler for schools this year. Districts are writing policies. Maybe not every district has written one, but districts are putting policies in place. Teachers like you and me are experimenting and testing tools. And yes, students are even asking, "Chatchy PT, can you just write my essay?" But here's the thing. This moment is not about replacing teachers or automating the learning. It's about something much, much bigger. We are redefining right now in these moments how we teach thinking, problem solving, and creativity in a world where artificial intelligence is a collaborator. It's not a competitor to what you and I are doing. Now be honest, that's exciting. And it is a little uncomfortable. But we're going to be fine. I've said this many times. This is the worst it's going to be. AI has improved immensely since the first time it uttered the words, "This is the worst it's going to be." And it's going to change. For years, teachers have told students, "Don't just copy and paste from Google." Now we have to say, "Don't just ask AI. Think with it." And I will say, AI does not think. We as humans bring that actual thinking, critical thinking to how we interact with AI tools. And again, really it's the Gen AI stuff. This is a totally new kind of literacy. And I think this, the fall of 2025, this is a big tipping point. This is the year we move from curiosity about AI to competency with AI. That's my tech thought. If you walk into a classroom here in 2025, here in the fall, you're going to see a pretty wide range of how AI is being used. Some teachers, I'll include myself in this, I'm using generative AI to help plan lessons, have to help create assessments to draft rubrics. Others, and I'll also put myself in this too, are letting students, now I work with high school students, I allow students to use AI to brainstorm. Because some students, surprise, have difficulty articulating their thoughts. So I give them a little boost. I work with them to summarize articles, how to use AI as a tutor, not just as a, well, if you just throw your question in, you're going to get an answer. And really, you can get an answer, it's going to answer any question. But you know what? That's not what this is all about. We also need to talk about the fact that there are a growing number of schools that are launching pilot programs, and you have schools in districts developing their own AI tutoring chatbots. We are seeing the development and promotion of adaptive writing assistance. We're getting automated feedback tools in platforms like Canvas, like Google classroom. And it's not just teachers, administrators are also leaning on AI as well. Teachers are using it to analyze attendance data, identifying at-risk students, and even support communications with families in multiple languages. But here's what's interesting. Despite all of this experimentation, the biggest question educators are asking isn't, what tool should I use? How do I use this responsibly? You and I want to engage students with AI. We don't want to enable shortcuts. We want creativity, not copy-paste. That's what this is all about. You and I are trying to figure out where we the human teacher fits in a world where machines in Gen-AI and chat GPT and Gemini and perplexity can simply generate answers in seconds. Let's focus on the good parts of this, because there is plenty of good. AI is actually helping reclaim time. AI is giving the lots of time. I imagine it's also giving you a lot of time, for the things that matter most, connecting with students, providing feedback, and designing meaningful learning experiences. For example, imagine being able to generate five versions of a quiz question that will allow you to differentiate for all of your students instantly, or using AI to give every student individualized writing feedback before you even collect the assignment. That's now replacing you. That's empowering you. I have talked to teachers that I work with specifically, who are using AI, like myself, to draft lesson objectives, to rewrite directions and translate assignments into another language to support our English language learners. I talk to teachers who are using AI to summarize complex texts at different reading levels. It gives us time and it gives us the ability to teach better. One colleague told me, "AI isn't doing my job. It's giving me time back to actually teach." That is really powerful, and I think that's the sweet spot. The opportunity is in automation. It's in the augmentation. When we use AI to enhance our craft and not replace it, that's where everybody wins. But contrary to winning, what are the actual risks? Now, I'm not going to sugarcoat this. There are real risks. There are people out there talking about the risks, right? Not an educator of K-12 students, but you have Emily Bender, who speaks out very much against generative AI and the pitfalls and the harmful nature of artificial intelligence and really the gen AI. I had a fellow educator, Tom Malaney, on a previous episode of the House of Ed Tech, which was episode 246, "The Harms of Generative AI." I will have a link to that in the show notes for this episode, which are a swipe or a tap away, or you can go to chrisnessie.com/264 to hear Tom's thoughts. So there are some real risks. The first big one, and this is not new, is equity. If AI tools are locked behind paywalls or limited to certain schools and communities, then obviously the gap between the tech rich and the tech poor is only going to grow. Number two, and this is not new, bias and accuracy. Area AI systems are trained on huge data sets that can reflect and sometimes amplify biases. That means the content it produces isn't always fair, accurate, or inclusive. Number three, privacy and security. AI tools often require access to data, sometimes student data. Thousands and districts have to navigate that very, very carefully. You need to have strong policies in place, and you also need to provide for transparency. And finally, the human factor. If we let AI take over too much, we certainly risk losing the teaching moments that come from struggle, discovery, and good old-fashioned conversation. A student might be able to generate a "perfect" essay, but did they learn how to write? A teacher, like you and I, might be able to plan a week's lessons in 5 minutes or less. But did we then reflect on our student's needs? That's the tension that exists in all of this. So yes, the risks are real. There's no escaping it. But those reasons are not reasons to retreat. They are reasons to lead better. And how do we actually do this? I have a few ideas. And I am framing my thoughts around leadership, because every teacher, every teacher, is a leader, whether you have a title or not. First, build your AI literacy. Learn how these tools work, try them, break them, understand the limitations of the tool. You can't lead what you don't understand or have not experienced. Number two, put pedagogy before technology. Don't start with, how can I use AI? Start with, what do I want my students to learn? That should be the same question you've been asking your entire career. Then, see if AI supports that goal. Number three, be transparent with your students. Talk about when and how you are using AI or when you are having them use AI. You want to model ethical use. Let your students see your decision making process. Number four, advocate for clear district policies. Push your school leaders to write guidelines that protect privacy and policies that promote responsible use. And finally, share your wins and your failures. That's how we move forward with anything, in any profession, which, by the way, is what this podcast is all about, learning together, experimenting, and supporting each other through the change. I've said a lot, you might be thinking a lot. At the beginning of this episode, I talked about the upcoming House of Ed Tech Smackdown for 2025. I want to solicit your feedback and thoughts on what I've talked about in the context of this episode. So email me, [email protected], or feel free to send a voicemail, go to christnessy.com/christnessy.com. voicemail or slash feedback. This, as always, is not the end of the conversation. I just put some thoughts down. I had some things to say. Let's see where this goes. I am put one person with one perspective. If you agree, I want to hear from you. If you disagree, I want to hear from you. Let's have a conversation, okay? Now, I did things a little out of order today. Let's get into this episode's EdTech Recommendation. For this episode's House of EdTech Recommendation, I want to talk about a Google Chrome feature that can be found in the Google Chrome Media Hub for live captioning. This will allow you or your students in Google Chrome to live caption or live translate audio or video, which would have audio, that is playing in Google Chrome. This is really slick, really simple, and the control hub button is in the top right corner of Google Chrome. And then with audio that's playing, again, it can be audio from say a podcast or video from YouTube. This will or audio or video on any website will live caption it and you can live translate it. Very slick, valuable for you if you're presenting or projecting on the screen in your classroom or if students are working independently or even at home and they need that translation support to read along or they need support in another language. Check it out. Let me know what you think. [email protected]/feedback. And that's my EdTech Recommendation. Thank you for listening to this episode of the House of EdTech. Make sure that you follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode and you never missed the opportunity to grow your EdTech skills anytime, anywhere. As we wrap up this episode, I want to leave you with a few questions to reflect on whether you're a teacher, tech coach, or that district leader. How are you preparing your students for a world where AI is everywhere? Are you helping them use the technology or helping them think with it? And what's one step that you can take this year, right now, to bring AI into your classroom, ethically, intentionally, and creatively? Because remember, the future of AI and education doesn't depend on the technology. It depends on us. We decide how it's used, how it's taught, and what values guide it. And that's both the challenge and the opportunity. So let's lead in this moment, let's experiment, let's learn. And of course, you can head to chrisnessie.com for this episode's resources. They are swipe or tap away chrisnessie.com/264. I want to hear from you. [email protected] or leave a voicemail at chrisnessie.com/voicemail. I'd love to hear what's on your mind. Think this episode could inspire a colleague, share it with them, and help expand our ed tech community. And if you're finding real value, consider supporting the show at chrisnessie.com/awesome. I am so grateful to all of my awesome supporters, and that group includes Leo Calbush, Brian Carpenter, Aaron Cummings, Jeff Herb, and Matt Miller. Thank you for helping me do what I do. Don't forget, also, the House of Ed Tech Smackdown. Get your submissions to me by December 12th. Until next time, remember, using technology is not difficult, just give it a try.